In the past cotton harvesters have been provided with a main frame mounted on a pair of front traction wheels and a pair of rear steerable wheels that generally track the front wheels. The rear steerable wheels are connected to the frame by means of a transverse wheel support extending between the steerable wheels and which is pivotally connected to the frame about a fore-and-aft extending horizontal axis. Consequently, the frame is normally supported or stabilized on the two front traction wheels and the fore-and-aft extending axis on the rear wheel carriage. There is also carried on the front of the frame harvesting mechanism which feeds to a basket carried directly over the wheels. Cotton is accumulated in the basket. The basket is supported to pivot about a fore-and-aft extending horizontal axis alongside of the frame so that a truck moving alongside the harvester will be in position for receiving cotton that is being discharged from the basket. There is normally provided a lid for the basket which opens as the basket is tipped to the side and consequently there tends to be an overbalancing of the entire unit on this side.
In the past, the harvester was properly stabilized by the two front wheels and the third connection about the fore-and-aft pivot between the rear steering wheel carriage and the frame. In recent years however, the overall width of a harvester has increased primarily because the front harvesting units have been increased in number to extend considerably outboard of the wheels in order to harvest additional rows of cotton. A truck, to be in position alongside a cotton harvester with the additional width, must be spaced a further distance from the frame in order to avoid contact with the outer harvesting unit. Consequently, the fore-and-aft extending pivot about which the basket rocks has had to be moved further outward so that the basket when it is dumping will discharge into the truck. This, of course, places the weight of the basket, its lid, and the material in the basket further outward with respect to the fore-and-aft center line of the implement when the basket is shifted to dumping position. Thus, there has been created an unstable condition and there is a tendency for the entire harvester to tilt or turn over.